A Million Points of Light
by Rhianna-Aurora
Summary: CS. One-shot. Post-And Straight on 'Til Morning. Night aboard the Jolly Roger. A quiet moment and a change of perspective for a pair of broken souls.


**A/N: It was fairly inevitable that I'd write a thing about them onboard the JR ... and so here it is. The first of many, I'm sure. Gotta fill up this summer hiatus SOMEHOW. ;) Song lyrics at the beginning and end are from "Shattered" by Trading Yesterday, which you should all just go listen to.**

_And I've lost who I am and I can't understand_  
_Why my heart is so broken rejecting your love  
Without love gone wrong, lifeless words carry on  
But I know, all I know is that the end's beginning …_

Emma leaned against the railing of the Jolly Roger, staring out at the horizon as the ship moved near-silently through the glossy black waters of Neverland's sea. The sky was unlike anything she had ever seen, alive with a million points of light, stars that hung low to the earth, seemingly close enough to reach out and pluck from the air. Even in the Enchanted Forest, the sky had still been familiar, but here … here everything was different and she couldn't make sense of it.

She couldn't make sense of anything any more. She couldn't understand why the people that _should_ be the ones to stay with her were the ones that constantly got ripped away … and the one that had no reason to be there at all was the one who …

"You should be sleeping, lass."

Emma didn't turn around, she just raised her eyes heavenward, though she wasn't sure if she was looking for strength or salvation there. They hadn't really talked since he'd come back. "You're not sleeping either," she pointed out, still not looking at him.

She didn't have to, since he came up beside her, leaning on the railing in much the same manner she was. She felt a lump form in her throat, and had no idea where it had come from. She hadn't cried yet, about Henry, about any of it … and she'd be damned if it'd be _now_.

"The ship may be magical," he said easily, "but it does require someone at the helm. And unless you've acquired knowledge of sailing that I don't know about, that someone is me."

She continued to stare at the stars, as though they were the most fascinating things she'd ever seen. It was easier than looking at him right now. She still hadn't worked out how she was feeling about … everything. "So drop anchor so you can sleep," she said.

He chuckled, but it didn't sound happy. "You needn't worry about me," he told her. "I find I don't need much sleep."

Emma didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. She'd always found it easy to talk to him in the past — _too_ easy, really — but now … now everything felt _different_. Because he wasn't what she'd expected … he was what she'd wanted him to be all along. And she didn't know how to process it.

"Well," he said after several long moments of silence, straightening his spine again and taking a step back. "I can tell where I'm not wanted. I won't trouble you further. Enjoy the stars of Neverland, Emma."

It was that … that use of her name, for the first time since — God, she couldn't even remember the last time he hadn't called her "Swan" — it was that that broke through to her. Her hand shot out before she could stop herself, grabbing him around the wrist, just above his hook and preventing him from taking another step.

"Wait." She turned to face him, looking at him for the first time since he'd approached her out here. "Hook, I … " Her expression crumpled and she really didn't know what to do about it.

"It's all right," he said, raising his hand and bringing it very near her cheek before dropping it, as though he thought it might be an unwelcome gesture.

She shook her head, swallowing thickly as she looked up at him, her eyes meeting his at last. "It's not," she whispered. "He's gone, he's just gone, they took him and I didn't even realize it was happening. What if we're too late?"

"Emma, look at me." The tone in his voice, was commanding and firm, but not unkind. Emma shook her head, looking down miserably.

"I can't."

His hand and his hook were on her shoulders then, and he was bent down just enough to be eye level with her. "This isn't your fault," he said. "Emma, I have seen firsthand what you are willing to do for that boy. I was the unfortunate recipient of some of those things, remember? _Look at me_, dammit."

The vehemence in his voice made her raise her head, her brow furrowed. "Why are you here, Hook?" she asked him. It wasn't really what she'd wanted to say to him, but it was the first thing that came out.

His expression was confused then. "It's … my ship," he said slowly, cautiously.

"But you _left_," Emma said, and she recognized the edge of desperation in her voice.

"Does it count that I came back?" he said, giving her a hopeful grin, widening his eyes dramatically at her. It astounded her that he could still manage to pull that off in spite of the situation surrounding them.

Absurdly, she started to laugh. There was nothing to laugh about, but she couldn't seem to stop. It was only when she felt his arms go around her that she realized she wasn't laughing any more, somewhere in there, the laughter had turned to tears. She couldn't even find it in herself to push him away, because it just felt so nice to have someone holding her, to have a moment where she didn't have to pretend like she was okay.

Because she _wasn't_ okay. Her whole world was upside down and nothing made sense any more and the only person offering her any kind of solace at all right now was the last person in the world she'd ever have admitted to needing.

But that was _before_ …

There was a voice in the back of her mind, telling her that she was going to regret this little breakdown in the harsh light of day, but she found herself unable to to stop, and she cried until she was sure her tear ducts had completely dried up.

Throughout it all, he didn't say a word. He just held her, his hand a comforting weight at the small of her back. When she finally pulled away, he didn't stop her, he released her without a sound.

Her eyes met his again and she opened her mouth to say something … anything, but he shook his head. "It's all right, Emma," he said, giving her a wink that let her know that everything was back to normal — as normal as things got with them, anyway. "Your secret's safe with me." She rolled her eyes in response, earning herself a smile from the pirate. "Don't worry," he said then, slightly chucking her under the chin with his index finger, "we'll find your lad. Whatever it takes, I swear it."

Emma blinked a little, confusion miring her mind once again at the conviction in his voice. Nothing made sense any more, least of all _him_. "Someday you'll tell me why you're really doing this," she said softly.

"Someday maybe you'll be ready to hear it," he responded, just as quietly. She didn't know what to say to that, so she stayed silent. After a moment, he sighed. "Goodnight, Emma," he said, giving her a nod and turning to walk away.

"Hook," she said, wondering if he'd turn around. He did. Of course he did. There had never been a time she'd called for him that he hadn't answered, why would he start now?

"Yes, Emma?" he said, his expression nearly unreadable to her. There was a light in his eyes she remembered seeing back on the beanstalk — it was similar to the light that only children seemed to have in their eyes … that hopefulness that existed, before real life came and snuffed it all away.

And yet somehow, he still had that when he looked at her …

She felt her breath catch in her throat, and she bit down on her bottom lip, wondering how to go about expressing her gratitude to him then … not just for tonight, but for … everything. If he hadn't come back … there was no way they would be able to find Henry.

She took a step forward then, looking up at him. She leaned forward, hesitating briefly as her eyes flickered up to his, before she pressed her lips to his cheek, very near the corner of his mouth, letting the kiss linger there for maybe a second longer than necessary. She half-expected him to say something, _do_ something, but he seemed to have gone stock still the second she'd touched him. She heard him inhale sharply as she finally pulled away.

"_Thank you_," she whispered, looking up at him, hoping that somehow her eyes conveyed that this was so much more than just a thank you for the few kind words and simple comfort he'd given her this night. He'd given her his word, and he'd kept it. He'd come back, though he had no reason to do it. And when he said they'd find Henry … somehow, she believed that too.

He hadn't been wrong yet, had he?

He raised his chin a bit, giving her the faintest of smiles then. "Fret not, lass," he told her, and his voice seemed a little bit rougher now, as though he were just as lost for words as she was. "We'll make this right." He brushed his finger over her cheekbone then, his touch featherlight, before he turned then, and this time, Emma let him go.

She watched him walk away, feeling somehow lighter than she had only an hour before. She turned back to the railing, looking back out over the dark horizon of Neverland.

And somehow the million points of light in the air around her seemed a little bit brighter now.

FIN

_Who I am from the start, take me home to my heart_  
_Let me go, and I will run, I will not be silent  
All this time spent in vain, wasted years, wasted gain  
All is lost, hope remains, and this war's not over  
There's a light, there's the sun, taking all the shattered ones …_


End file.
